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There was a little delay in getting this up but here it is. I had the pleasure of spending last week on Lake Erie fishing with Dwight H. The weather was quite cooperative and what you’d expect for the most part in May; dealing out an even mix of sun, rain, wind & waves. What was not expected (or desirable) was the lack of pre-spawn bass. By not getting discouraged and fishing hard, trying various baits & depths, we met with limited success. The smallies caught were healthy and Lake Erie typical beauties but the numbers when compared to recent years were down quite a bit. If they were there, they had a good dose of lock jaw. On the second & third day, after taking a couple of big fat Walleye as “by-catch” it didn’t take long for us to switch gears and make Old Marble Eyes the prime target of our efforts. As expected, my host was putting a hurting on them right away while it took me a while to get it going ~ I was getting a little tired of being net man. Soon I started pulling my weight and was very lucky to land a new PB ~ always a good time. The fish went 8 ½ and bested my previous PB by over 2 pounds but it looked quite a bit bigger – really healthy, long & Fat. I’d like to thank Dwight (and his wife Sue) for their hospitality. I always really enjoy my trips to Pa and this one was no different – Good Times. And returning home with a cooler full of fresh walleye fillets is an unexpected and very tasty bonus. A-Jay

The Rage Blade isn't designed to do exactly what a Chatterbait or Pure Poison style bait does. It's design specific for when the fish need heavy vibration action at slower swim or retrieve rate and with a few less snags and more weed proof than the others. There are situations where this is what fish are looking for and it's a similar pattern where swimbaits are productive as well. The photos are from a recent trip where I needed it to get the bites I wanted. It was 10 to 12ft water and the fish were on the bottom in scattered brush. Also used it at the Roadtrip and fished it a lot in the Wilson Lake tail race. It turned out to be my go-to there

After a late night last night I decided to sleep in just get u and go fishing when ever I woke up. I arrived at the boat launch at 8 am. The parking lot was full. there were 14 boats already launched. I almost decided to go somewhere else but decided to go for it anyway, I was already there. I launched my boat and just started fishing. It certainly was a slow start. I assumed the northeast wind had something to do with the poor fishing. I just kept plugging along catching a fish every now and then but nothing of any size. I spoke with a couple of guys fishing in there boats and they said it had been a really slow morning. Then the wind picked up pretty good. It stared blowing 10-15 mph out of the northeast. It started getting a bit choppy out on the water. A few boats left once the wind had kicked up, then it began to rain. Most people decided to call it a day. I elected to stay. After an hour or so the wind calmed down significantly and the rain stopped. A front had just passed and the bass were biting ! The afternoon bite was insanely good. I had the place to myself for the most part. Sometimes it pays to tough it out and stay with it. I caught 27 largemouth and 1 smallmouth for the day, as well as a bunch of pickerel. Lunker fof the day. 6 lbs 0 oz 21.75 inches 5-8 5-6 5-1 Got a 4-1 and 5 between 3-4 lbs as well but didn't take any pics of them. It was an amazing way to end an incredible month for me, 19 bass over 5 lbs for the month. Hopefully June will be just as awesome !

My friend and I fished today and he said "How do people even have other hobbies than fishing?" I have to agree with him, nothing compares...(at least for me)

B.T.D. has two men working the floor and after sales three. they had over 450 orders to fill and some of the products hadn't come in to fill the shelves. Why do I know this? They sell most of what we make and I know all the staff including the owner. It's a 5,000 sq. ft. building and right now we have a serious flu going around the entire north state. Hang in there, their doing the best they can with the short staff they have right now. Fil - out with the flu, Jamie - just getting over it - Bobby - working his tail off - Brent - doing 7 days a week to get the orders out. I don't mean to defend them as much as I do, but they're all my friends and I fish with and against them. All great guys, just having a tough go of it right now. This flu is no joke, it put me in the V.A. hosp. for a week. All your orders will get out A.S.A.P.

Picked up a new Savage Gear Hollow Frog from The Outdoor Pro Shop in Cotati California. It's the storefront shop for Monster Tackle online. The version I grabbed has the action legs. I chose this particular model because of my love for fishing soft plastic toads with the ultra vibe style of legs. I figured this would give me the best of both worlds with the action similar to a Horney Toad but the ability to stop it mid retrieve and let it "soak" over open holes in the matted vegetation. I had a little time this evening so I tied it on and walked down to my pond to see how it would work. I fished it on my Kistler 7' Heavy action frog rod with 65lb Power Pro and a Shimano Curado 200DHSV. My pond has some pretty good matted vegetation around the edges with some mixed leafy surface grasses mixed in the the occasional bunch of tules. The fish have been holding relatively close to the bank and with all the grass growth a weedless frog is the best option. I started out by casting parallel to the bank and fining the frog back with a slow steady retrieve. The action of the legs was phenomenal with just enough water movement to draw attention but not too noisy like a buzz bait would be. My first fish came from a sparse section of grass and inhaled the frog while it was on the move. The single hook penetrated in the very top of the mouth and was solid! Probably a 3 pounder but a good start to the evening. I then worked around to a nice stand of tules with some matted vegetation growing in it. I threw the frog right into the edge of the tules and let it soak. The water exploded on the first twitch. Another solid 3.5lb bass was stuck dead center of the top of the mouth. These frogs were definitely getting some attention! I had several fish strike and miss the frog in some of the heavier grass. This is expected in this type of fishing and usually just means you need to slow the presentation down. My last fish of the evening started as one of those missed fish. Three different casts over a thick mat brought explosions through the slop. On the last cast she came up twice before connecting solidly with the frog. This fish was right at 4lbs and was hooked in the corner of the mouth but the hook still had great penetration. Needless to say I definitely approve of Savage Gears new 3D Hollow Frog! The realism is fantastic, It shows no signs of wear after three good fish being horsed from heavy cover, and the action of the legs definitely draws fish! I will be adding a few more to my collection!

In "cold" blooded creatures the methabolic rate depends on the environmental temperature, warmer means higher methabolic rate = more calories needed, also, warmer temperatures accelerates digestion so the stomach empties faster. So a bass will eat with more frequency or less frequency depending upon the environmental temperature. On the other hand the question is not about how often a bass eats but how often will a bass hit a lure, the answer is -----> throughout the years I´ve caught literally hundreds of fish not only with a full stomach but even with half of the prey still in the mouth.

Bass Resource Forums

Today and this past week. image 2 image 4 image 5 image 7 image 8 image 9 image 10 image 11 image

Am I the only one thinking the OP just messing with you guys? Or are you guys being sarcastic and going along with it?

The Walmart in Hammond's idea of clearance is to clear off the shelf and put it in the middle of the floor where it's in everyone's way

a small government for the people by the people

Bluegill start to spawn about the same time the majority bass are are finished. Bass should be post spawn, some guarding fry,most moved into deeper water to recuperate. The bass have been fending off the bluegill and now it's pay back time, bass target the bluegill. Fish a little deep with slower moving lures like bluegill swimbaits or whatever post spawn presentation works for you. Crappie usually spawn before bass. Tom

Hello. I haven't been doing the best in my pond here as of late. How are you guys doing? Catching anything? What are you guys using?

I agree 100%, I've caught fish while a top water lure was rippling in the water as I was untangling a wind knot, more than once. If location is the paramount ingredient for success, which seems to be the consensus opinion, why do some professionals consistently do better than others? I do believe they all know how to find fish and have their own techniques perfected, if not they wouldn't be pros.

I had to help my uncle set up a dock at his camp on Crescent Lake in Ackworth which meant an opportunity to go fishing. I only fished for an hour and a half or so but I landed 3 smallies, 2 largemouth and a pickerel. Biggest was about 2 lbs.

I'm right handed. All of my spinning reels have the handle on the left. My baitcaster's handles are on the right. I never really thought about it until this thread. I guess it all boils down to how you were taught.

Well guys, I made it out to Leonard's pond this Saturday. I launched around 7:30 and worked the shoreline with a jig, senko, frog and texas rigged zoom zhog. By 12:30-I o clock, I had about 10 bites, all of which, were less than 12 inches and a few that shook me off that probably didn't measure as well. I was discouraged as I thought the day was ultimately going to be a bust. I started digging into the plano's and pulled out a Z-man Chatterbait with a Yamamoto swim senko trailer both in black/blue. The water was very tannic and there couldn't have been more than 8 inches of visibility so I thought that this setup given the color, vibration and overall larger profile might get me some more bites. To my surprise, after a few casts, I started getting bit and with much better size. I found that 95% of my bites were coming off of submerged wood and ended up with 20 or so bass including a 5 lb 6 oz bass in the last 2 hours of fishing. I'll take it for a first outing and I am excited to try other new water nearby! Here's a video of some highlights from the day:

On Academy's website they're 2.49 USD with free shiping on orders $39 or more.

Got to fish a little so far this weekend while at the camp caught a few few shallow early , with one nice one at 8-12 on a frog !!!! One hell of an explosion .

Its not even a fair comparison, Stick Marsh/Farm Pond!

I'll use it for t-rigging, jig trailer, jika rig, and punching. The beaver style baits are my favorite plastic to throw. I'm glad Rage finally added one to the lineup. I gave Rage a whole season and the brand proved to me that it flat out catches fish! So I have replaced a lot of my other plastics with Rage.

Yea, less than a mile from Mike's house. It's real convenient. I can get pretty much anything I need from him any time I want. And I get to try out new jig styles before they go on sale. And when I have a wild idea for something a little different, all I gotta do is give Mike a call, and it ready in a few days.

I placed an order on Memorial Day and it shipped yesterday. I saved $400 on 3 Dobyns rods and and a few baits so I'm OK with the wait.

Thanks for all the replys. How about this?? - Duckett Micro Split Grip Cranking Rod 7'11" & Lew's BB-1 Speed Spool Casting Reel

Nathan that's pretty nice your so close to Siebert.. I would be broke!

Honestly, the only practical thing you'd use in this situation is the frog. So much vegitation is perfect for that frog and all you have to do is launch it, and walk it back, venturing your bait through the open spots which are great for bass to ambush your frog. Also I'd use the jig! You should get some SiebertOutdoors jigs, he has a wide variety of head and skirt colors that are the best in the business in my humble opinion. ANYWAYS.. I'd pick up one of Mike's from SiebertOutdoors, grass jig and just swim it through with a double tail grub. I'd also punch those mats with a heavy grass jig that Mike sells as well. So just use those tactics for your jig!! Hope I helped somewhat!

Yes shad boil, they fry and bake very well also

The problem with catching big female bass during the spawn is a high percentage are the anglers personal best catch and get over handled or taken home. When female bass spawn it is stressful and a few don't survive as a result, without being caught. Add the stress of being caught, put into a livewell, weighed, photographed etc and a stressed bass to start with, the odds increase they may die. These bass don't always roll over and die instantly, they swim around like a zombie and starve unable or no desire to chase or catch food. If we use Dottie as a catch and release example, she was a star. Dottie was always caught off a bed, never documented being caught any other time of the year. Dixon lake is small, the weigh station minutes away from where Dottie was caught so she didn't stay in a livewell more than a few minutes and was handled by expert trophy bass anglers and biologists, ideal conditions few other giant bass had. Tom

You are like most people I know, including myself. Its all personal preference nothing more. The key is to be comfortable, no need to worry about what all the reasons others will tell you its wrong.

First trip of the year I hooked a good size lake trout & realized I had forgotten my net. Ran 15 miles while in Canada to our starting spot & realized the guy loading the boat forgot my tackle bag with all our baits. Got to the dock to launch the boat & remembered I left my license on the night stand in the bedroom. Four hours into fishing watched my dog lifting his leg on the bow & realized my buddy who parked the trailer forgot to get the dog to pee before getting on the boat. And the list goes on.

Same thing with my Sedona. It's certainly not bad, but a little "crunchier" than I expected. The same day I bought that I also bought a Pflueger President (around same price) and it is 50x better than the Sedona. The President became the spinning real I will continue to buy and use.

Thype Thanks, I was thinking about doing that same tatic! I was going to use the Money Dog, I think that is what it is. But, it is the soft plastic stick back that is a Zara Spook, but you just use a 5/0 hook. I figured that would be a different enough change compared to what they might have been seeing. Especially considering there is a Federation tournament today there. Thanks again! Wdy

Zoom Trickworm watermelon gold flake.

Rage Tail Recon Falcon Lake Craw

Glasses license rain gear However the worst thing i ever did was leave my chest waders home during an october salmon trip...i waded in the salmon river for six hours that day until i couldnt tie a knot anymore because i was shaking so bad from being mildly hypothermic. I did catch a PB Coho that day lol

Amazing how that turned out. Great job.

This is what happens when when you fall asleep on the couch after work and your buddy proceeds with out you.

the senko is the best follow up bait in history. USE IT

Do a google search for "Wobble Head Worm". Do not post a website link since the company is not a site sponsor. This rig is DEADLY in North Louisiana during the summer. I always have one tied on from mid June through September. Very popular lure in this region but virtually unknown anywhere else.

If I'm on a track, either drifting a river or working a shoreline, I don't want someone cutting in front of me. I don't do that. I'll go somewhere else or a long way down the river so they can fish all they want and never see me, again. The other day, drifting a river, I had some bobber fishers go by me and then anchor in front of me. The third time, I said, in my normally quiet voice, will you leave me the heck alone. They turned and went back up river away from me.

Well after a couple seasons of bass fishing I finally scored a new bass PB of 2 3/4 lb. I know it's nothing to brag about but for me it's a fun accomplishment. Was able to lip 11 largies yesterday with most between the 2-3 lb mark. Next milestone is a 3lber. Hopefully it doesn't take me another two years! Oh, and no pics...I was too embarrassed to take pics in front of real bass'ers ;-) Oh, all caught drop shotting a worm.

Around here if your on the way to the river and you see a pasture full of cows and if they are laying down you better just go back to the house cause the fish arent wanting to bite. If you see them all standing up you better put the pedal to the metal and get fishing.

My maternal grandmother was a Cajun lady from south Louisiana and she taught me many things about being superstitious since she was extremely superstitious: Always put on your sports uniform the same way and take it off the same way all the time. If your favorite sports team is doing something good don't change your position or get up. If you do your team will do something dumb or lose. Always step on first base on the way to the dugout and when heading onto the field. Never cross after a black cat has crossed in front of you. Never walk under a ladder. Keep wearing the same clothes if you are winning and don't wash them unless it is necessary. You will wash off the good luck they carry. Don't go into any body of water where they can see you and you can't see them. It is their home field advantage so be very respectful of the water. Don't let anyone put the "gris-gris" on you. It is Voodoo curse and hard to get rid of. But it is OK for you to put the "gris-gris" on others. (Pronounced gree-gree). Always put the plug in the boat when you leave home. Always start the motor and the trolling motor before leaving home. And she was a fantastic cook, too.

I have never really fished too much with spinnerbaits, but for some reason this year im slamming them on spinnerbaits. I have to say Im gaining alot of confidence throwing a spinnerbait.

The BBQ was excellent. I don't remember eating anything that wasn't delicious all week!!

Hey folks, I know y'all took a lot of pictures and videos, and want to send them in to me for the highlight video. The best way to do that is to upload them to a sharepoint, and then PM me the link to it. Popular share sites are: https://www.dropbox.com/ https://www.hightail.com/ https://drive.google.com/ These are all free. Thanks!!

It was definitely an awesome meal. Thank you again Pete!!

Pete I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to spend longer than a few minutes with you. Will definitely make up for it next year... My and Jeannie's prayers are with your grandson for a complete and total recovery, and with his Papa and Grandma, and his Ma and Dad, may he keep you all strong. Mike

It was a great meal. You and Marilyn really did a wonderful job. Thank you both so much. It was great chatting with you two and to find out Marilyn was born in St. Louis was cool. Your grandson will be included in our prayers as well. It was a pleasure to you both. Thanks again. Macmichael